Trauma and affective forecasting: The mediating effect of emotion dysregulation on predictions of negative affect

Work on affective forecasting has provided support for the finding that people overestimate their predicted emotional reactions towards future life events. We extend past work by highlighting individual differences in affective forecasting. A sample of 368 undergraduate students differing in trauma experience and symptoms were asked to complete emotion regulation questionnaires and predict their emotions and reactions towards two hypothetical future negative life events (i.e. academic failure and cyberbullying). Using structural equation modelling, emotion dysregulation mediated the association between higher trauma experience and symptomatology and greater negative affective forecasts towards both hypothetical negative life events. The mediating role of emotion dysregulation suggests it can be a potential target for intervention, especially for those with a history of trauma. The present findings extend the research on individual differences in affective forecasting and expand our understanding of the role of emotion in shaping ones decision-making and outlook for the future.